My problem is fairly simple, just my computer going into sleep mode around every three minutes or so if I don't use my mouse or keyboard. This usually isn't that big of a problem, but when I'm reading a long body of text and not using my mouse or keyboard, it can irk me a little when the screen goes black. I've tried nearly every option on my Windows 7 control panel, but to no avail. Even with my power plan settings directing my computer to never go to sleep and to never turn off its display, it still does the same thing. Strangely enough, this problem only arose after I got a new Logitech M510 wireless mouse. So, people of Tom's Hardware, what do I do to fix this?
//My computer switches to a black screen after about 5 to 15 minutes of use. Then I have to turn it off to get another 5 to 15 minutes of use. Can you tell me what part of my computer is causing this black out?
I get questions that boil down to this symptom quite often.
![Why does my computer screen keep saying monitor going to sleep Why does my computer screen keep saying monitor going to sleep](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123708539/665572186.png)
Unfortunately, it’s very hard for me to offer concrete help.
The problem is that there are so many possibilities that could lead to this symptom. There’s simply no single “part of my computer” to point at.
There are many things to look at, and look for, so I’ll review the most common causes and remedies.
Most common: overheating
A suddenly black screen accompanied by what appears to be a completely unresponsive computer is, most often, a symptom that you computer has crashed.
And the most common cause of crashes is overheating.
Your computer needs good ventilation to avoid overheating. Make certain that the ventilation holes aren’t blocked by dust or other debris.
Occasionally, a poorly-designed computer can overheat even if there are no obstructions. Most often this is because the CPU [Central Processing Unit]
CPU is an acronym for Central Processing Unit, which is the chip that is often referred to as the “brain” of a computer.
CPU is often used incorrectly to refer to the entire computer itself, or the desktop box. In reality, the term specifically refers to an integrated circuit or “chip” that resides on or is connected to the computer’s motherboard, inside the box.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
'>CPU is being used too heavily for too long. This can be due to malware [malicious software]CPU is often used incorrectly to refer to the entire computer itself, or the desktop box. In reality, the term specifically refers to an integrated circuit or “chip” that resides on or is connected to the computer’s motherboard, inside the box.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
Malware is short for malicious software. Malware is a kind of catchall phrase that encompasses pretty much any kind of software that could cause harm to your data or your machine.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
'>malware, which I’ll discuss in a moment, or it can be due to running a CPU-intensive program or game continuously for a long time. If the latter is the case, you may need to take steps to provide extra ventilation, or cool the air flowing around or through your computer.(Click on the term for full definition.)
Hardware-related failures
Hardware does fail. One of the early signs of impending failure is a periodic crash such as you describe.
Given that it’s consistently happening 5 to 15 minutes after boot up, after looking at possible overheating issues, I’d probably begin to suspect the power supply next.
Just about any hardware component on your computer can cause a crash if it’s starting to fail. Most often it’ll take a technician looking at the machine in person to diagnose imminent hardware failure.
In addition, drivers related to the hardware can also come in to play. If you’ve recently updated drivers for a component, it’s possible that the new drivers brought a problem with them in the form of a bug
A bug is nothing more than an error or mistake in either software programming or hardware design.
Bugs can manifest in any of several ways, from simple and benign misbehaviour to catastrophic failure, crashes, and data loss. In fact, many bugs many never manifest at all.
Bugs can also be exceptionally difficult to identify and correct – or trivially simple. A somewhat cynical rule of thumb is that the harder a bug is to identify, the easier it is to fix, and vice-versa.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
'>bug.Bugs can manifest in any of several ways, from simple and benign misbehaviour to catastrophic failure, crashes, and data loss. In fact, many bugs many never manifest at all.
Bugs can also be exceptionally difficult to identify and correct – or trivially simple. A somewhat cynical rule of thumb is that the harder a bug is to identify, the easier it is to fix, and vice-versa.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
The next step would be to notice any correlation between the time the problem started and any software updates on your machine, particularly drivers related to the hardware.
malware [malicious software]Malware is short for malicious software. Malware is a kind of catchall phrase that encompasses pretty much any kind of software that could cause harm to your data or your machine.
(Click on the term for full definition.)'>Malware
(Click on the term for full definition.)
Malware remains a possibility, though not to the same degree as it has been in the past.
To begin with, most malware isn’t really interested in intentionally crashing your computer. However, as you might imagine, malware doesn’t have quite the quality-assurance process that most commercial software has, so it’s possible that buggy malware could cause problems.
The reason that malware is less likely is that, unlike hardware drivers, it simply doesn’t operate at the same level needed to cause an instant and total crash. Malware-related crashes are usually limited to a single program, some specific functionality that stops working, or in the most common worst-case scenario, the “BSOD [Blue Screen of Death]
BSOD is an acronym for the semi-facetiously named “Blue Screen of Death”.
The BSOD is an error-reporting mechanism included in all versions of Windows. It presents a single screen full of information about a serious failure, and halts the computer completely – hence “death”. The information happens to be displayed as white text on a blue background – hence “blue screen”.
Windows attempts to handle errors transparently, safely, and without interrupting the normal operation of the system. Unfortunately, some errors are so disruptive to Windows’ own ability to operate that it simply can’t figure out what to do. The only thing it can do, as a kind of “last ditch effort”, is to halt the system, preventing possible damage and presenting the information about the failure in the infamous BSOD.
The information presented on a blue screen is in no way intended to be understood by the average computer user. Typically, Windows has found itself in such a state that it’s not safe for it try to analyze the error any further. It provides what amounts to highly technical information in the hopes that it can help a technician or someone versed in technical diagnosis.
In an ideal world, a BSOD would never, ever happen. In the real world, blue-screen incidents have been steadily decreasing with each successive version of Windows. The most common culprit for the BSOD today are poorly written drivers and hardware failure.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
'>blue screen of death“.The BSOD is an error-reporting mechanism included in all versions of Windows. It presents a single screen full of information about a serious failure, and halts the computer completely – hence “death”. The information happens to be displayed as white text on a blue background – hence “blue screen”.
Windows attempts to handle errors transparently, safely, and without interrupting the normal operation of the system. Unfortunately, some errors are so disruptive to Windows’ own ability to operate that it simply can’t figure out what to do. The only thing it can do, as a kind of “last ditch effort”, is to halt the system, preventing possible damage and presenting the information about the failure in the infamous BSOD.
The information presented on a blue screen is in no way intended to be understood by the average computer user. Typically, Windows has found itself in such a state that it’s not safe for it try to analyze the error any further. It provides what amounts to highly technical information in the hopes that it can help a technician or someone versed in technical diagnosis.
In an ideal world, a BSOD would never, ever happen. In the real world, blue-screen incidents have been steadily decreasing with each successive version of Windows. The most common culprit for the BSOD today are poorly written drivers and hardware failure.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
But it remains something to stay on top of, via a complete and up-to-date anti-malware
Anti-malware tools are tools that attempt to prevent, detect, and remove, all types of malware.
In the past tools have differentiated between classes of malware such as viruses and spyware. You would need a separate utility for each: one anti-virus program, and another anti-spyware.
Viruses and spyware and other forms of malicious software are all taking on each others characteristics to the point where the distinction between them is not only difficult to characterize, but ultimately not useful. They're all bad.
Hence the term malware, to refer to all forms of malicious software, and the migration of security software targeted at a particular class of threat in to more all-encompassing anti-malware tools.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
In the past tools have differentiated between classes of malware such as viruses and spyware. You would need a separate utility for each: one anti-virus program, and another anti-spyware.
Viruses and spyware and other forms of malicious software are all taking on each others characteristics to the point where the distinction between them is not only difficult to characterize, but ultimately not useful. They're all bad.
Hence the term malware, to refer to all forms of malicious software, and the migration of security software targeted at a particular class of threat in to more all-encompassing anti-malware tools.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
![Why does my monitor keep going into sleep mode Why does my monitor keep going into sleep mode](https://www.medicalert.org.au/uploads/news-and-resources/newsletter/Sleep%20graph.png)
Perhaps not the computer, but the display
One more common “black screen” failure mode is that the computer’s display has stopped working, but the computer itself is still running properly.
One simple way to determine if this is what’s happening is to play some audio on your computer. Load up a longish mp3 play list or streaming
Streaming most commonly refers to the act of transferring data to your computer or device for immediate consumption. For example, watching live video on your PC would be watching a video stream.
Video streaming typically requires that the internet connection being used is sufficiently fast to meet the requirements of the video’s size and encoding, often referred to as “bit rate”. If your internet connection is capable of up to 1.5 megabits per second, then only video streams with bit rate requirements lower than that will play properly without interruption. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to determine bit rate requirements of arbitrary video streams, and this is typically determined by trial and error.
Streaming is distinguished from downloading by what happens to the data once transferred. Streaming is viewed or listened to immediately, whereas a download is typically saved to a file for later consumption.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
'>streaming audio station and let it play. If the monitor suddenly goes black, but the music continues to play, you know that the computer is still running, and that the problem is more likely either the video card, the video drivers, the monitor, or the cables connecting the monitor to the computer.Video streaming typically requires that the internet connection being used is sufficiently fast to meet the requirements of the video’s size and encoding, often referred to as “bit rate”. If your internet connection is capable of up to 1.5 megabits per second, then only video streams with bit rate requirements lower than that will play properly without interruption. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to determine bit rate requirements of arbitrary video streams, and this is typically determined by trial and error.
Streaming is distinguished from downloading by what happens to the data once transferred. Streaming is viewed or listened to immediately, whereas a download is typically saved to a file for later consumption.
(Click on the term for full definition.)
Keep Going Quotes
If that’s what appears to be happening, then:
- Check the connecting cable, making sure that the connections at both ends are snug.
- Borrow a replacement monitor to see if that resolves the problem (you would hook it up as an external monitor, if this is a laptop we’re talking about).
- You can also try updating the video drivers.
Unfortunately, diagnosing the video card itself can be difficult, and once again is something often best left to hardware technicians.
It could be expected and normal behavior
It’s probably obvious to you already, but I’ll say it anyway: it could just be a screen saver. If you wiggle the mouse or hit a key on the keyboard and your screen comes back, that’s it. You can adjust screen-saver behavior in the Display portion of Control Panel.
If you have a laptop, it’s possible that the computer has gone into Standby or Hibernate mode. If you simply push the power button and it comes back up
Back up, two words, is the act of making a backup.
See also: backup
(Click on the term for full definition.)
'>back up to where you were after a few seconds, that’s probably it. Normally a computer should only go into Standby if you’re not actively using it, but if your battery is very low, it may force Standby in order to avoid losing your work in progress. Usually there’s a message that should tell you when this happens.See also: backup
(Click on the term for full definition.)
So as you can see, it’s not a simple process to diagnose. Some steps, like trying another monitor or cable, are pretty easy for you to take yourself. But if you’re not comfortable diagnosing system crashes or hardware problems like potential overheating, it might be time to take the computer to a local technician for a hands-on diagnosis.
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FAQ & Answers
- Hi,
Have you changed in Advanced power setting as well? - These are the current settings. I appreciate the help.
- Hi,
Try switching to different Power plan or create a new custom plan and check whether it resolves the problem, if not, I would suggest a system restore.
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4588-system-restore-windows-10-a.html - 0
- 0
- I was having this problem and fixed it using this solution. It involves a small registry change but if you follow the instructions exactly you won't have any problems.
The solution was found here:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-windows_install/windows-10-keeps-going-into-sleep-after-1-minute/787e8cea-32ce-4ea0-a281-13c32a75352d?auth=1
1. Click on the windows icon
2. Type regedit
3. Right-click on regedit icon, click Run as administrator
4. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlPowerPowerSettings238C9FA8-0AAD-41ED-83F4-97BE242C8F207bc4a2f9-d8fc-4469-b07b-33eb785aaca0
5. Double click on Attributes
6. Enter number 2.
7. Go to Advanced power settings (click on Windows button, write power options, click on Power Options, in the selected plan click on the Change plan settings, click on the Change advanced power settings).
8. Click on the Change settings that are currently unavailable
9. Click Sleep, then System unattended sleep timeout, then change these settings from 2 Minutes to 20 for example.
I hope this helps someone, it was driving me absolutely crazy until I was able to fix it. Just editing the regular power settings and advanced power settings does nothing, you have to edit the registry to allow you to access and change the System Unattended Sleep Timeout setting.
From what I've read it's a change Microsoft made in Windows 10 - why, I don't know, because it is totally frustrating and shouldn't require a registry edit just to prevent our computers from going to a lock/login screen after a few minutes of inactivity. - Thanks Jonesie!!!! problem solved! much appreciated.